The proposed European Super League has presented a completely new vision in its latest attempt at a comeback.
A22 Sports Management — the company leading the charge to revive the offshoot soccer league, which was announced and then quickly abandoned in April 2021 — has released its plans to rival the UEFA Champions League.
- The competition would feature no permanent members and would have open qualification based on domestic performance.
- “Feedback suggests a European football league that is open, based solely on sporting merit, multidivisional with 60-80 clubs and a minimum of 14 guaranteed European matches per club,” A22 said in a statement.
- A22 reportedly spoke with nearly 50 European clubs in establishing its new guidelines.
“The vast majority of them share the assessment that the very foundation of European football is under threat,” A22 CEO Bernd Reichart said in a video on Twitter. “It is time for change.”
Stern Opposition
Reichart’s video alludes to an upcoming decision from the European Court of Justice regarding FIFA and UEFA’s alleged monopoly on European soccer.
However, in December, a CJEU advocate general published an opinion siding with FIFA and UEFA — indicating the rest of the court may follow suit when the decision comes down sometime this year.
Many European soccer entities still heavily oppose the ESL in any form — including La Liga president Javier Tebas, who posted a scathing rebuke on Twitter.
